In all of these we’re changing the language from a
right/left dichotomy to a three-dimensional model. The hope is that, with old
language out of the way, we can discuss the principles that lead to the best
outcomes: freedom (instead of tyranny), prosperity (instead of poverty), and civilization
(instead of savagery).

Rather than review what the model looks like, today we’ll
cover the basic principles that lead to the best outcomes—upper northern
hemisphere—in the three overlying spheres: political, economic, and social.

Go North on the
Political Sphere

The Political Sphere

Government must be
limited to its proper role: protecting life, liberty, and property. We can
ask (and insist that our government officials ask and honor) a series of
questions to test whether or not a policy fits within the freedom zone:

·Is the policy being debated something that an
individual has the right to do, and therefore has the right to delegate to
his/her government? For example, a
person has the right to protect his own life and property. He can, therefore,
combine resources with his neighbors and hire a government entity, such as a
sheriff, to do that job for him. Similarly, the several states can combine to
delegate the power of defending the nation to a national government entity.
Conversely, a person does not have the right to take his neighbor’s excess
grain production, for example, and bestow it on himself, because his neighbor
was more prosperous in a particular season. He can, of course, ask his neighbor
for charity, but he cannot coerce the neighbor to give. That would rightfully
be considered theft. Therefore, the person cannot delegate the redistribution
of wealth to the government to do for him.

·Does the policy infringe in any way on the rights
enumerated in the US Constitution Bill of Rights? Does the policy infringe on
the free exercise of religion or try to establish a particular sect as a state
religion? Is political speech hindered? Does the policy infringe on the right
of citizens to bear arms? Does the policy constitute an illegal search or
seizure? Does the policy deprive a person of life, liberty, or property when
the person has not committed a crime for which that deprivation is the just
sentence? Does the policy try to claim for government a power that was not
specifically granted in the Constitution? etc. If the policy infringes on God-given
rights, then government cannot take that power without usurping power from the
people.

·Is the idea being debated a proper role of
government; i.e., some aspect of protection (including defense, protection from
interstate crime, enabling international and interstate commerce, standardized
weights and measures and currency, the judiciary that guarantees the protective
laws), as enumerated in the Constitution? If not, then accepting the idea is outside
the Constitution and south of the freedom zone.

·

Go North to the
Prosperity Zone

The basic principle for economic prosperity is: the person who creates the wealth gets to
decide how to spend it.

The Economic Sphere

The closer we get to that principle, the more prosperous the
society.

Inequality of outcome is not a problem government should
solve. In fact, protecting property is pretty much the only assignment of
government related to the economy. We know from long experience that government
interference in the economy, for whatever well-intentioned purpose, will cause
negative consequences—usually the exact opposite of the stated goal of the
interference.

Included in its job of safeguarding our wealth, government
can be charged with coining/printing money. But whenever it
prints/coins/creates money not representing actual created wealth, it devalues
money, robbing earners of some portion of their wealth.

So, above all, we get prosperity in a free-enterprise
society where government is limited to protecting property.

What do we do about the poor?

That is a combination of an economic question and a social
question. “For ye have the poor always with you,” (Matthew 26:11). If we want
to help one another, it has to be a free-will charitable gift—not a coercion of
government. Government is incapable of charity; it is only an exertion of
power, or coercion. So government needs to stay out of the issue of helping the
poor.

If we live in a civilized society, we will care about one
another. We will go through churches, organizations, and individuals to help
those who need help.

There will always be a bottom 10% of earners. But the goal
is to raise the standard of living so that even those lower earners have basic
food and shelter, and, whenever possible, the opportunity to get out of poverty
and become self-sufficient.

Respecting one another’s property rights, obeying laws, and
honesty in business transactions are also necessary for economic prosperity, so
the interrelationships of the spheres becomes evident. Political freedom from
limited government, plus the self-government of civilized people set a
background for economic prosperity.

So, economic prosperity comes when we have a free-market
combined with philanthropy, and a government strictly limited to protecting
property.

Go North to the
Civilization Zone

The Social Sphere

In the Spherical Model, Civilization is more than a society
where people write records, have a certain amount of technology, and live
together in cities. It is a society free from savagery. Civilized people live
peaceably among their neighbors, helping rather than taking advantage of one
another, abiding by laws enacted to protect property and safety—with honesty
and honor. Civilized people live in peace with other civilized people; countries
and cultures coexist in appreciation, without fear.

As with the other spheres, where good people agree that
freedom is better than tyranny, and prosperity is better than poverty,
civilization is better than savagery. These are not close choices; they are
clearly different.

A civilized society requires a critical mass of people who
live a certain way.

·A civilized society must be a religious society.

oNot
all religious societies are civilized (according to my definition), but every
civilized society is a religious society. This absolutely does not mean
state-sponsored religion or lack of religious freedom; in fact, the opposite is
true. Freedom of religion is essential, and the flourishing of religion in
general must be encouraged.

oRights
come from God, not from government or some human grantor; so belief in God is
the basis of freedom.

oIndividuals
feel accountable to God in this life and the life to come, so they choose to
self-govern.

·The religious beliefs of the people must include
honoring God, life, family, truth, and property (this is the summary of the Ten
Commandments).

·Because it perpetuates the civilization, family
is the essential basic unit of civilization. There must be a critical mass of
married mothers and fathers raising their own children to be civilized people.

So those are the basic principles of the Spherical Model.

If we can agree that we want freedom, prosperity, and
civilization—as opposed to tyranny, poverty, and savagery—that’s a lot of
agreement. And then we can move the conversation on to how we get those
outcomes. I’ve proposed what I believe are the true principles. Most of what I
write about here relates to how these principles are playing out in our world.